Page 8 of Ravenous Alien Mate

“Are you related to the king?” she asked.

“No, but I consider him a friend,” Jav said. “As you might have heard, King Vaath only recently came into power. The king before him—his father—committed crimes against our people and was banished from the Marttiaxoxalian Empire. During the events which led to King Vaath’s ascension to the throne, I helped capture the enemies among us who were threatening our new way of life, an anti-Earther group that was being funded and directed by the former king. King Vaath rewarded me for my service to the Marttiaxoxalian Empire by giving me rooms in the palace.”

“I heard about King Vaath’s rise to power,” she said, “though I assumed his father had died. So, you helped defeat anti-Earthers? Does that mean you’re an enforcer among your people?”

He directed her up a flight of stairs, allowing her to pause on the landing above so that she might look down at the statues lining the main entrance of the palace. Her eyes filled with wonder.

“No,” he finally responded. “I am not an enforcer. I’m a member of the Vash’arr, an elite group of Marttiaxoxalian warriors.” For a reason he couldn’t fathom, he halted at telling her he was genetically enhanced. Partly because he didn’t wish to frighten her, particularly right before he claimed her as his mate, and also because admitting it aloud reminded him of the stark differences between him and non-enhanced warriors, those who had extended families and were raised in a home with at least one parent.

At last, they reached his quarters. His rooms sat on the top floor of the palace, which was considered a high honor, as King Vaath himself also lived on the highest level of this grand structure. Jav ushered Leah through the entryway, his hand at her lower back.

He breathed in her feminine scent and felt a growl building in his throat. Gods, he wanted to strip her clothing off at once, carry her to the bedroom, and claim her as his.

His cock thickened in his pants, hardening so fast he felt momentarily dizzy. She peered up at him wordlessly, her cheeks flushed as her breathing grew increasingly rapid. When the undeniable scent of her arousal struck him, he finally released the growl he’d been holding back.

Chapter 7

Why was Jav growling at her?

Leah hoped he wasn’t upset with her for some reason, though she couldn’t imagine what she might’ve done to make him angry. His eyes gleamed dark and dangerous, and his nostrils kept flaring. Furthermore, his muscles were tensed and he looked like a beast on the verge of attack.

She glanced down at herself and frowned. Her attire wasn’t as nice as the other women aboard the spaceship. Most had been wearing dresses, likely the nicest outfits they possessed, and now she couldn’t help but feel inadequate as her new mate stared down at her.

A heated wave of embarrassment stole through her. She swallowed hard and waited for him to say something. If he scolded her for the way she looked, it would break her heart.

Quickly, she erected a protective wall around herself, hoping she might manage to shield herself from the worst of his insults. All the men she’d encountered at the prison, save for the kind elderly guard who’d helped her yesterday, had frequently insulted her. She’d been called every bad name she could think of during the last ten years.

She hadn’t known Jav for long. What if he possessed a cruel side? He didn’t look happy right now and she couldn’t help but shudder under his intense stare.

Sure, he’d paid her a compliment earlier, telling her she was beautiful, but only after she praised his appearance first. What if he’d just been saying it to make her drop her guard?

Some of the officers at the prison had done similar things—they’d been strangely nice to her on occasion, only to lead her into a sense of false security and then knock her food tray out of her hands or call her a horrible name, just to watch the surprise fall over her when they betrayed her. She’d quickly learned this was a game many of them played.

Would Jav play such games with her?

To her shock, he stepped closer and took her face in his large, warm hands. Despite her fears, his touch elicited a surge of heat to flare between her thighs, and not for the first time in his presence either. She couldn’t help it. It wasn’t because he was the most attractive male she had ever seen, but because of the odd tension she continually felt flaring between them. It seemed as though the air around them was electrically charged.

“You are trembling, sweet Leah,” he said, stroking his thumbs over her cheeks.

Goosebumps rose all over her body, even as warm pulses flowed through her, his nearness causing a delicious mingling of sensations within her.

“I can’t help it,” she confessed, as she hoped being somewhat honest with him wasn’t a mistake. Perhaps if she was honest with him about everything but her past, it would make up for the secrets she planned to conceal.

“You’re nervous.” He drew in a deep breath and another growl soon rumbled forth from his throat. “Ah, but you’re also sexually aroused. The scent of your femininity keeps increasing on the air. Do you have any idea, sweet Leah, how intoxicating you smell?”

She couldn’t stop a gasp from escaping her lips. She’d thought he was angry, given the dark look in his eye and his tense posture, in addition to the growling, but maybe she was reading him wrong.

Was he simply aroused?

As he stepped even closer, his huge muscular body moved against hers, and she immediately detected the hardness of his cock pressing to her stomach.

She sweltered in the sweat suit she was wearing and felt perspiration break out on her forehead. The heated waves inside her didn’t cease coming, but it soon became clear to her that it was from more than arousal.

Dizziness overcame her and suddenly the whole world went dark.

* * *

“Leah? Leah?”

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